


Order in Entropy

by RandyWrites



Category: DCU (Comics), Raven: Daughter of Darkness (Comics), Secret Six
Genre: F/F, bit of a blend of pre and post 52 so uhhh make of that what you will, just some good wlw content bc we're lacking it lmao, oh and the six are mentioned sometimes too, some general teenage angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2020-10-25 17:21:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20727956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandyWrites/pseuds/RandyWrites
Summary: One's a demon trying to do all the good she possibly can for the world. The other's a girl not afraid to take what she can while the taking is good.One-shot requests taken from my tumblr for yet another exceptionally rare pair.





	1. "Something In You"

“-And I hate it! I’m so sick of leeching off of everyone so _automatically_!”

Lori threw another rock out at the lake, not bothering an attempt at skipping it across the surface, finding some satisfaction at it’s cacophonous splash.

“But I can’t help it! If I’m even just casually _thinking _about an arcane to steal from, there it is! Right at my fingertips!_ Right within reach_! But I’m supposed to, what? ‘_Resist the temptation’_? All my life is _temptation_ and _chaos_ and-”

The empath stepped closer now, catching Lori’s arm before she had the chance to throw another rock into the lake.

“Would you like a hu-”

Before she even had the words out, the goth embraced the Titan, tears slipping from her eyes as she held tightly onto the taller teen. Raven hesitated for only a moment as she wrapped one arm to rub soothing circles in her back, another to hold her head in comfort.

“I’ll take you in, no matter what your chaos brings,” she promised, “And so will the _Six_, the _Night Force_. We’re all here for you, Lori. We’re all here to _help_ you.”

“Even when just _holding_ _me_ like this hurts you?” Lori whispered, sending a shiver up Raven’s spine. “I _know _it does. I drain _everyone_ I’m around. I can’t _help it_.” 

“Yes,” Raven said, swallowing a lump in her throat carefully before nodding with conviction, “_Yes_, even when it hurts. Because I-” She caught herself as a light blush rose in her cheeks. Lori’s face was still buried by her shoulder, her sobs interrupting as Raven swallowed another lump forming in her own throat, “Because I _care_ for you.”

Lori laughed. A small, scathing, snickering sound. “That’s just your rotten luck, isn’t it?” She finally pulled away, brushing the last of the tears from her eyes quickly.

“You deciding to put up with _me_ makes it your luck, too, I suppose,” Raven smiled back, glad to see Lori’s good spirits returning, holding onto her hand for just another second longer. And savoring the emotion.


	2. Eyelash Wishes

“-and then there’s the problem with _Mercury_ being in _retrograde_,” the empath continued, her hands becoming a bit more animated as she talked.

Lori wouldn’t have admitted it, but she could watch the Titan talk all night. The way her nose wrinkled in distaste when venting about her day, the neat crease of her brow when admitting to a worry, the subtle twinkle in her eye when she was thinking.

Currently, Raven’s head rested in Lori’s lap as the girls sat atop the latter’s bed, a potentially compromising position, were it not for the familiarity they carried themselves with. Each member of the Six already stopped by at some point to check in on the teens, whether to be hospitable or to be familial annoyances. They would be free of prying eyes for at least another hour. Free to enjoy each other’s company without knowing looks or questions about their intimacy. 

The Titan yawned, a quiet sound and quick rub at the eyes before she launched right back into another half-finished sentence. But Lori lost all focus on what she was saying as something caught her attention.

“Rae, I’m sorry but I just-” she laughed, hand already reaching down onto the empath’s face, “You’ve got an eyelash… Here…” 

She rubbed briskly at the older teen’s cheek, nodding to herself and inspecting the offending lash as Raven’s breath visibly caught in her throat.

She bit back a smile before asking, “Did y’know we can make wishes on these things?”

The Titan swallowed thickly before confessing, “I did not.”

Lori considered the lash resting on her fingertip for a moment, before placing it on the tip of her own nose and closing her eyes.

The empath watched her with fascination as she sat perfectly still for a few seconds, before her face scrunched up to harshly blow away the eyelash.

One eye peeked at Raven, a questioning look, “Is it still there?”

The Titan shook her head, and Lori smiled.

“Good. Then my wish is gonna come true!”


	3. "You're awake!"

Lori knew she’d overdone it. She’d known she was overdoing it the moment she took on Fate’s power in the first place, and she’d known it wouldn’t lead to anything good right up until the moment that she’d been on the verge of passing right the fuck out.

She hadn’t regretted a single thing, however, until that moment had come to pass.

Imagine her relief, naturally, when she awoke in her own room, with nothing seemingly amiss or alarming.

She could smell Thomas making eggs as always downstairs. Kani’s violin could be heard softly playing somewhere in the house, a few sour notes and mumbled curses as she continued practice, and as Strix gave occasional rounds of applause for encouragement. Lori thought for a moment that she could even sense the familiar auras of Scandal, Jeanette, Kay and Liana in the living room with the Dibny’s. But those thoughts were quickly lost as she felt an electric, familiar touch at her shoulder.

“Hey… you’re awake!” Raven gasped, before taking the newly roused teen by the shoulders and giving her a rough shake. “What the fuck were you thinking!?”

“Uh, first thoughts were something like, ‘_wow, this is really fucking cool. I’m Fate._’ And then it devolved into, ‘_Ms. Zatara, I don’t feel so good_.’ And now we’re here,” she rolled her eyes before closing them, the room spinning around her now. She took a breath and tried to hold back onto the empath for some stability.

Raven flinched back from the touch slightly before relaxing into it again. A small moment of give and take passing as Lori’s hands gripped tightly against Raven’s arms. As Raven reached up to brush her hair aside to feel the temperature of Lori’s forehead, she shivered slightly.

“Sorry,” Lori murmured, eyes diverting as she let go of the Titan’s arms.

Taking and taking and taking from each other, even when they didn’t want to be. The teen knew it was dangerous, Raven had told her that excessive contact always left her emotionally drained with normal people. With a self-proclaimed power siphon like Black Alice? It was a physical and psychic drain to boot. And it never boded well when she was in desperate need of a recharge.

But as she pulled away, Raven reached for one of her hands, clasping it gently between her own.

“No, you’re-” The Titan’s ears began to redden as she bit her lip in thought before continuing, “You’re going to need to recover. Let _me take your_ pains, at least?”

“All we _know_ is taking,” she chuckled, “So… you’re always welcome to try.”

Raven nodded before closing her own eyes in concentration, muttering soft prayers in what Lori could only guess were Azarathian tongues.

When she’d finished, it was Raven’s turn now to lie down in the bed and wait for the room to stop spinning. She rested with an arm draped over her eyes to block out the light, still holding Lori’s hand in the other.

The teens lay there on the bed, silence filling the space between the soft drone of conversation drifting up from downstairs, and the erratic rhythm of a violinist out of practice.

“I’m sorry,” Lori apologized again, her voice thick with an emotion she was trying her best not to name, to keep in check, “I know I’m a dumbass. And I rush in too quick and-”

“You’re _my_ dumbass now,” Raven shrugged, “Let’s not push our luck so hard next time. For both our sakes, please?”

The teen thought it over a moment before nodding, squeezing the empath’s hand so she could feel the truth of her words. “Won’t make a promise. But I can try.”

Raven squeezed it back before saying, “That’s all I’ll ever ask, love.”

Lori tried not to let thoughts linger too much on the lightness she felt fluttering in chest at the pet name.


	4. "... I need your help"

The Titan continued shelving book after book, pointedly ignoring her girlfriend’s pleas.

“Pranking Zatara can wait,” she reasoned, “Organizing this library can not.”

“You know the house rearranges the shelves on a whim, right?” Lori countered, “It’s, um… What’s the goddamn- _sisyphean_!”

Raven quirked an eyebrow, a small, proud smile gracing her lips. “_Someone’s_ been studying.”

“Yeah, well, the SATs aren’t gonna pass themselves.”

“What happened to dropping out and living as a full-time bog-lady?”

The mage gave a shrug, leaning against the bookcart the Titans was using. “I’m keeping that as my solid B-plan. My C-plan is taking a gap year, though.”

“Oh _please_ tell me that you’ve got plans D through Z all accounted for too.”

Lori clicked her tongue, “I got bored around N so I never made it all the way through.”

The pair shared a light chuckle, before Raven turned back to her work.

The mage checked her phone as her girlfriend continued, full steam ahead, before giving a sigh of defeat.

“Zach’s show isn’t until seven anyways… And it’d probably have a better effect if he comes back to his dressing room after-”

Giving a noncommittal hum, the Titan began to push the cart forward, wheeling it around to the next row of shelves. This forced Lori off of her place from the cart. Not to be deterred, she followed closely behind the empath. She began fidgeting with one of the lighter books, twirling it in her hands or fanning the pages back and forth.

“But there is… something else I could be doing in the meantime…”

“_Studying_,” Raven suggested, her voice firm, but not unkind, “Your math scores are still horrendous, Alice.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, rubbing at her neck with one hand as she closed her eyes for a moment, “... I need your help.”

“With math? _Alice_-”

“Yeah, I know. But I… don’t trust anyone else. All of the nerds at my school are so _condescending_. And the teachers suck _even more_-”

“Math wasn’t exactly a _priority_ in my formative years.”

“Please, Raven. I don’t have anyone else to turn to-” She set the book down, a genuine plea in her expression.

The empath rolled her eyes. “Traci offered to let you join her study group-”

“Traci is a _nerd_-”

“A _nerd_ who wants to _help_,” Raven countered.

“A nerd is a _nerd_,” Lori said, waving a dismissive hand.

“Hmm, and what does that make me? If I decide to help you?”

“A… really, _really_ cool girlfriend?” she guessed, a hopeful note in her voice.

“C’mon, Zechlin, you can do better than that.” As Raven laughed, she pushed the cart forward again, only to be stopped by the mage putting her foot on its bottom shelf.

They locked eyes. A question in the Titan’s, a plea still in the mage’s.

“Ugh, okay! Fine!” she relented, “But if you bomb the math section again, you better not blame me.”

“No promises!” Lori laughed, snatching the empath’s hand and leading her to a table she used as her own personal study space.

The House of Mystery had a way of adapting to the needs of its occupants, after all. This next generation of mystics was no different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr request. once again, feel free to check me out @ dyketectivecomics


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